Forces and Motion: Basics

Forces and Motion: Basics Screenshot
  • Force
  • Motion
  • Friction
HTML5 Badge Back to HTML5 Version

Topics

  • Force
  • Motion
  • Friction
  • Speed
  • Newton's First Law

Description

Explore the forces at work when pulling against a cart, and pushing a refrigerator, crate, or person. Create an applied force and see how it makes objects move. Change friction and see how it affects the motion of objects.

Sample Learning Goals

  • Identify when forces are balanced vs unbalanced.
  • Determine the sum of forces (net force) on an object with more than one force on it.
  • Predict the motion of an object with zero net force.
  • Predict the direction of motion given a combination of forces.
Version 1.02

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Concept questions for Physics using PhET (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS
MC Physics
Algebra-based Physics Semester one lessons, clicker questions, and schedule in pdf (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS
HW
Demo
Lab
Physics
Forces & Motion: Basics HTML5 - Part 2 (Friction) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Amy Rouinfar & Trish Loeblein K-5
MS
HS
Lab Physics
Forces and Motion A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Sarah Borenstein MS Lab Physics
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other Physics
Earth Science
Chemistry
Biology
Force and Motion: Mass vs. Speed Heather Gaughan K-5 Remote Physics
Introduction to Net Force Heather Gaughan K-5 Remote Physics
PHET Motion & Friction Sim Lab James Kane MS HW
Discuss
Lab
Guided
Physics
Mapping of PhET and IBDP Physics Jaya Ramchandani HS Other Physics
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer MS
HS
Other Chemistry
Biology
Physics
PhET Simulations Aligned for AP Physics C Roberta Tanner HS Other Physics
Newton's Second Law of Motion Leah L. Lecerio HS
MS
Other Physics
Friction Quantitative Lab Steve Banasiak HS Guided
Lab
Physics
How does mass effect the speed of a forced object? Marley Carhart K-5 HW
Lab
Guided
Physics
Friction and Motion Amanda Turkel K-5 Lab
HW
Guided
Physics
Mathematics
Forces and Free Body Diagram Lab Kara Quinlan HS Lab
Guided
Physics
Pushing Things Around Dean Baird HS Lab Physics
Force and Motion Basics - Second grade Anne Mason K-5 Lab Physics
Kinematics Wang Yunhe HS Lab Physics
Middle School Science Julia Benson MS Lab Physics
Tug Wars: May The Forces Be With You! Jeffrey Shuldman K-5 Lab Physics
Forces and Motion: Friction Nicole H. MS Demo
Force and Motion Sim Activity Kim Ridini K-5 Lab Physics
Investigating Forces and Motion Through Inquiry Tony Tracy HS Lab
2nd Law Simulation Lab Bob Bessin HS Lab Physics
Force and Motion Investigation Michael Pennisi HS Lab Physics
Forces and Motion: Basic - Concept Introduction Stephen N. Clontz, M. Ed. MS
K-5
CQs
Lab
Demo
Other
Force, Mass, Acceleration CL Stephenson HS
MS
Lab Physics
Friction and Acceleration Mike Mikhaiel HS Lab
Forces, Friction and Motion Monique Modeste MS Lab
Force Allison Reich MS CQs Physics
PREPARATORIA: Alineación de PhET con programas de la DGB México (2017) This contribution was designed by PhET. Diana López UG-Intro
HS
Other Chemistry
Mathematics
Physics
mesues pjeter gjoka MS Discuss
Lab
HW
Physics
Forces i moviment Valentí Ferrer MS HW Physics
Forces and Motion: Basics Dutch Rachid Anouar MS HW Physics
Kracht en beweging René Wester HS Lab Physics
Gamificação da Força e movimento Darkson F. Costa; José M. V. Gomes; Dommenike M. Silva; Gilvandenys L. Sales. MS
HS
UG-Intro
Lab
Guided
Physics
Atividade de Força e Movimento Darkson F. Costa, Jeirla A.Monteiro, Gilvandenys L. Sales MS Discuss
Lab
Physics
Mecânica (Atividades) nos OA's do PhET Artur Araújo Cavalcante e Gilvandenys Leite Sales Grad
HS
UG-Intro
MS
Other
Other
Guided
HW
Demo
Discuss
Lab
Earth Science
Other
Physics
Força de Atrito Darkson Fernandes da Costa, Gilvandenys Leite Sales HS
UG-Intro
Lab Physics
Leis de Newton Jardel de Oliveira Santos / Nizomar de Sousa Gonçalves MS Discuss
Guided
Physics
Forças em Ação Alline Alencar Macedo e Mairton Romeu Cavalcante HS Lab Physics
2. Newtonov zakon Barbara Fir MS Guided Physics

Language Download or Run Tips
Arabic All العربية Run now القوى والحركة: مبادئ
Arabic (Saudi Arabia) All العربية (السعودية) Run now مبادئ القوة و الحركة
Armenian All Armenian Run now Ուժեր և Շարժում։ Հիմունքներ
Basque All Euskara Run now Indarrak eta higidura: Oinarrizkoa
Belarusian All беларускі Run now Сілы і рух: Асновы
Bosnian All Bosanski Run now Sile i kretanje - Osnove
Catalan All català Run now Les forces i el moviment. Nivell bàsic
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 力和运动:基础
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now 力量和運動:基本概念
Czech All čeština Run now Síla a pohyb
Danish All Dansk Run now Kræfter og bevægelse: Basis
Dutch All Nederlands Run now Kracht en beweging: basis
French All français Run now Les forces et le mouvement : pour débuter.
Galician All Gallegan Run now Forzase movemento: Inicial
German All Deutsch Run now Kräfte und Bewegung: Grundlagen
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Δυνάμεις και κίνηση: Τα βασικά
Hebrew All עברית Run now כוחות ותנועה: הבסיס
Hungarian All magyar Run now Erők és mozgás - alapok
Indonesian All Bahasa Indonesia Run now Gaya dan Gerak : Dasar
Italian All italiano Run now Forze e moto: le basi
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now күш және қозғалыс: негізлер
Korean All 한국어 Run now 힘과 운동: 기초
Kurdish (Turkey) All Kurdish (Turkey) Run now Bingehên Hêz û Livînê
Macedonian All македонски Run now Сили и движење - Основи
Malay All Bahasa Melayu Run now Daya dan Gerakan: Asas
Persian All فارسی Run now آشنايي با نيروها و حركت
Polish All polski Run now Siły i ruch: Podstawy
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Forças e Movimentos: Noções Básicas
Romanian All română Run now Forța și Mișcarea: Elementar
Serbian All Српски Run now Силе и кретање - Основе
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Sila a pohyb: Základný kurz
Spanish All español Run now Fuerzas y Movimiento:Fundamentos
Spanish (Mexico) All español (México) Run now Fuerzas y Movimiento:Fundamentos
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Fuerzas y Movimiento:Fundamentos
Spanish (Spain) All español (España) Run now Fuerzas y Movimiento:Fundamentos
Swedish All svenska Run now Kraft och rörelse: Grunder
Tamil All Tamil Run now விசை மற்றும் நகர்ச்சி அடிப்படைகள்
Thai All ไทย Run now แรงและการเคลื่อนที่: พื้นฐาน
Turkish All Türkçe Run now Kuvvet ve Hareket: Temel Prensipler
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Lực và chuyển động: Những điều cơ bản

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7/8.1/10
Latest version of Java
OS X 10.9.5 or later
Latest version of Java
Latest version of Java

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Noah Podolefsky (lead designer)
  • Sam Reid (lead developer)
  • Ariel Paul
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Piccolo2D
  • Lombok
  • Functional Java